maxit LWA
Insulation Fill
Ap p l e by- i n -We s t m o re l a n d
maxit S olve s Ti m e & S p a ce C h a l l e n g e Af te r Fl o o d WHEN a disastrous flood swept through picturesque Appleby-in-Westmorland, engineers and contractors carried out urgent repairs to ensure that the town’s flood-hit Co-operative store could reopen as soon as possible. Floodwater left the store’s original suspended timber floor unsafe, so a time-saving solution using maxit LWA lightweight aggregate, which is manufactured by expanding clay at high temperatures, was devised to ensure the floor could be reinstated and the store reopened without delay.
maxit Building Products Ltd. The Heath, Runcorn Cheshire WA7 4QX Tel.: +44 (0)1928 515656 Fax: +44 (0)1928 576792 Web: www.maxit-uk.co.uk Email: sales@maxit-uk.co.uk
The project involved removing the damaged timber flooring and filling in the void beneath with maxit LWA, acting both as insulation and an infill material, prior to the installation of a new solid floor screed.
required to level the material, then compact it using in a mechanical vibrator plate. The entire wooden floor was removed and replaced with compacted LWA in less than three days.
With the property backing on to the River Eden, the only available access was up steps through the front entrance of the store, which is the key provider of food shopping for the local community.
By specifying maxit LWA, BDN achieved an estimated time-saving to the overall construction programme of 50 per cent when compared to using traditional fill, which would have been impractical because of its weight and the limited access to the store.
Because of the total absence of on-site storage, the need to reduce loadings on the existing structure and the requirement to achieve re-opening within the tightest time frame, consulting engineers BDN Ltd, of Durham, specified maxit LWA, which was pneumatically delivered to the point of use by the maxit pump truck. Approximately 130 m³ maxit LWA in 10-20 mm grade was used to fill the 800 mm deep void with just two labourers from main contractor Castle Construction North East Ltd, of Middlesbrough,
Comments Colin Dorman, Director of Castle Construction: “The use of maxit LWA enabled us to save a lot of time on the contract, which was completed in two weeks compared to original estimates of at least one month.” The solution also ensures that, in the event of ingress of water in the future, it will drain freely through the LWA with no capillary action and, consequently, a much reduced threat of flooding or damage.